Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific(CIRDAP)
31-Mar-2017: Cabinet approves signing of Agreement for establishment CIRDAP Centre in Hyderabad.
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of an Agreement between Ministry of Rural Development and Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) for establishment of CIRDAP Centre at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad.
CIRDAP Centre in NIRD&PR premises would give NIRD&PR an advantage of having first-hand knowledge of networking with organizations specialized in rural development programmes which in turn would help in building a repository of institutional knowledge for NIRD&PR. This Centre will also help NIRD&PR to enhance its status in the region through linkages with other Ministries/Institutes in the CIRDAP Member Countries (CMCs). The faculty of the NIRD&PR and the Ministry officials would benefit from exchange visits to the best practices in the CMCs. The scope of work of the Centre is to focus on the implementation of integrated rural development, particularly poverty alleviation programmes within CMC member countries.
The CIRDAP is a regional Inter - Governmental and autonomous institution which came into existence in 1979 at the initiative of the countries of Asia Pacific region and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) with support from several other UN bodies and donors. India is one of the key founder members of this Organisation. Its Headquarters is located at Dhaka. Bangladesh, The objective of CIRDAP is to promote regional cooperation and act as a serving institution for its member countries for promotion of integrated rural development through research action, training, information dissemination etc.
CIRDAP has one sub - regional office in Jakarta, Indonesia. This sub - regional office of CIRDAP in south-east Asia (SOCSEA) was established in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1997. The objective was to assist and expand CIRDAP membership and its resources, to conduct training research and pilot projects relevant to South East Asian region. There are 46 countries in Asia Pacific Region, therefore CIRDAP has great potential for expansion for which they would be assisted by CIRDAP Centres.
Thailand king signs military-backed constitution
6-Apr-2017: Thailand's king has signed the country's military-backed constitution.
The new constitution paves way for Thailand to hold elections but critics are wary of increased power of the military.
Voters approved the constitution by a wide margin, two years after the Thai military seized power in a coup. The junta has argued that this constitution is a necessity to restore stability in the country.
The new constitution constrains further elected governments with an appointed senate, and commits governments to follow the military's 20-year development plan.
But this is actually a slightly different document than the one Thailand voted on. It contains six changes made at the request of new King Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who acceded after the death of his father in October.
Those changes expand the power of the monarchy. For example, according to the Bangkok Post, the king may leave the country without appointing another regent. Also, it removes a requirement for the king to call a meeting with the heads of top courts and the Senate in the event of a constitutional crisis.
Thailand has had so many constitutions in its modern history — this is the 20th since 1932 — that many of them were introduced with little fanfare. But the extravagant ceremony requested by the king is seen as a sign of royal approval.
Rights groups were critical in the lead-up to the referendum, saying that the ruling junta had stifled dissenting opinions and debate about the draft. Dozens were reportedly detained for encouraging people to vote against.
Now, Amnesty International is concerned that the new document will not protect human rights.
Thailand's military government retains its carte blanche authority to rule by diktat until elections are held, and future governments will have free rein to restrict human rights on various vaguely defined grounds. The new constitution also keeps in place the full gamut of orders and decrees imposed by the military government since the 2014 coup, which have facilitated widespread human rights violations.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
13-Mar-2017: No candidate fielded for elections to the Commission on Legal Continental Shelf
India for the first time in two decades is not going to have a member in the U.N. scientific body that decides what portions of the seabed can be exclusively mined for natural resources such as oil, precious metals and minerals.
India’s current member to the 21-person body, called Commission on Legal Continental Shelf (CLCS) and part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), told India’s decision not to field a candidate for the upcoming election.
According to officials of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), the date to send a nomination lapsed on March 7. Multiple sources said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which formally nominates Indian candidates, chose to nominate a person to another U.N. body, called the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
The MoES is the nodal Ministry of the Government for the Law of the Sea-related issues. However, the MEA went on to nominate a retired Joint Secretary-level officer for ITLOS membership, whereas the MoES candidate for CLCS was not agreed to by the MEA. Despite several representations by the MoES Secretary at various levels, the issue was not addressed.
The CLCS has a five-year tenure and elections are due in June for the 2017-2022 term. Not having an Indian in this 21-member group would mean that China and Pakistan would likely grab two of the five seats allotted to the so-called Asia-Pacific group.
Apart from signalling prestige, a membership of the commission allows India to gauge the scientific strength of claims by countries to parts of the seabed that, like territorial waters, are often hard to demarcate. Such information is privy only to participants. India has had disputes with several neighbours — Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — over how the continental shelf (the seabed under the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal) can be fairly distributed.
India has huge interest in CLCS and applied for extending the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 350 nautical miles from the existing 200 nautical miles. India’s submission to CLCS will likely come up for scrutiny later this year, and Sri Lanka, which has claimed a larger area than India, will be examined first. India’s application number is 48, while Sri Lanka’s is 43.
Fielding candidates for ITLOS and CLCS would require India’s Permanent Commission to The United Nations, which coordinates the process, to canvass for votes for both positions and could reduce future “diplomatic leverage,”. “It’s also one of those rare occasions when there’s been a vacancy in both ITLOS and CLCS and maybe the MEA deems ITLOS more important.
In CLCS, the sitting members from the Asia-Pacific region are China, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia and India, and all countries, except India, are sending candidates for both posts.
While ITLOS is a judge position and the appointee is paid annual wages, there is no remuneration for the sitting CLCS member.
India became a signatory to the UNCLOS in 1982 and has had continuous representation in CLCS, ITLOS and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) since their inception in 1997, 1996 and 1994 respectively.